Page 141 of A Moment for Us
I cut her off. “It is you.”
“You don’t leave the person you love to be alone as they struggle through the loss of a child by herself. You stand by her, and you left me.”
My head drops down, and I hate myself even more. “You weren’t alone. I was here, but I was so stupid and afraid that I was going to lose you. That you’d die because of me. Please, baby, come to the door. Let me try to make this right.” She goes silent for a second, but the red light is still on. I know she’s watching and listening. “We may not have started the way most do, but there was nothing about what I feel for you that is a lie. I have loved you for so damn long, Delia Andrews, and if I thought, even for one second, that I was worthy of you, I would propose now, but I’m not. I’m not good enough, not yet, but I promise, I’m going to try to be.”
The lock clicks and then the door opens. She’s so beautiful. Her long blonde hair is in a braid hanging over her shoulder. She’s wearing a pair of shorts, and her hand rests on her swollen belly.
“How?” It’s the only word she utters.
I lock my muscles, holding my arms at my sides to keep from reaching out for her. “By proving that I won’t leave. I’ll stand outside your door until you’re ready to let me in.”
She glares at me. “Really? You’ll stay out here, in the freezing cold, just to prove you love me?”
“I’ll do anything to win you back. I don’t plan to walk away, Delia. See,” I say as I point to the RV that’s hitched to my truck. “I’ll be right here, whenever you need me. I know I hurt you and broke your trust. I know that I don’t deserve another chance, but I’m begging you for one.”
She leans against the doorframe, chewing on her lip. “You’re really willing to sleep in that thing outside my house?”
“I really am.”
“Good. I’ll see you in the morning.” She closes the door and locks it, and now I’ll show her I mean it.
Chapter 42
Delia
“He’s outside in the RV?” Stella asks with a laugh.
I peek out the blinds. “Yup. Still there.”
“Good for you for not just taking his word for it. Did he connect to the house?”
“I don’t know what that means, but most likely not.”
“Even better. It means he has no water and is running the generator for power. Want to know how to sever that?”
His sister is diabolical, but I like it.
“For now, he can keep his generator.”
“How long are you going to make him suffer?” she asks with a lilt to her voice. I really worry about Stella’s enjoyment of her brother’s penance.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t have a Jerry Maguire moment where I was all . . . you had me at the doorbell.”
She laughs. “I’m glad you didn’t. We make it far too easy on these guys.” Jack mutters something in the background. “Whatever, Jack, it wasn’t like you had to really work for me. I was a sure thing.”
I cut in. “Ummm, that’s not really true.”
She ignores me and continues talking to Jack. “I’m saying that, if you had come to my house with an RV, I would’ve dropped my pants. At least Delia has some self-respect.”
“Do I?” I ask with a bit of confusion. “I mean, I slept with him—a lot—knowing he didn’t care about me.”
She scoffs. “I love you, but you’re insane. Josh has always cared for you. He just was too stupid to recognize it.”
I look back out at Josh, who is sitting outside his RV and looking at the house. I jump back, hating that he may have caught me peeking. And then I wonder what the hell I’m doing. He came back to me, and I’m in here pretending as if I didn’t miss him every bit as much as he misses me. It’s not rational.
We’ve both been grieving and struggling to be strong. Yes, he cracked and broke down, but I would be lying if I said I blamed him or really held it against him. The emotions are impossible to navigate.
“I have to go,” I say to Stella.
